Haven’t we all been promised a paperless office for years? And although there have been various attempts and solutions, the latest answer to the paper problem appears to be machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA).

Microsoft has released Common Data Service (CDS) for Power Apps, Flow and Power BI. This Common Data service was the missing piece in Microsoft’s vision in connecting data with modern workplace apps in Office 365. This new feature will make end-to-end applications building accessible to a whole new range of more business-minded people, further helping to bridge the gap that has always existed between IT and business.

Now and into the future, the most successful companies will be transparent with their clients and other businesses, interacting dynamically via an ever-growing number of social media platforms. The challenge to maintain compliant records can seem overwhelming but there is no need to throw your hands up in despair.

One of Australia’s largest private hospital groups has deployed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in tandem with ABBYY FlexiCapture technology to overcome a major headache with processing over 30,000 supplier invoices per year.

The outsourcing sector needs to sharpen its act or face losing significant business, according to business leaders interviewed in the inaugural APAC and ANZ BPO Market Report by management consulting firm Enlighten.

The Australian operations of the WD-40 Company, makers of the famed lubricant spray, wanted to reduce the amount of paper used in its Australian business. As a manufacturer and distributor in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, WD-40 Company typically processes around 100 invoices per week. These have traditionally been paper-based, with physical signatures required for each invoice to be approved.

Secure messaging services like WhatsApp often feature in the news in the context of their potential use by terrorists. But paradoxically they are now used increasingly by Commonwealth government ministers and other senior officials.

It’s no secret that organisations are shifting away from paper-based records and by all accounts the amount of electronic documentation being created and retained is growing. Where once documents were printed only to be boxed in an archiving carton and shipped off to storage, now you have documents being saved into any spare MB of space a user can find where they can quickly find their document again.